Lakeside Foraging: Pickerel Weed

A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. – Henry David Thoreau

Pickerel weed, reflected in the still water of Ponoque Lake.

This plant is as common in Nova Scotia as the white, fragrant water lily. In fact it almost always grows in the same location. I remember this plant from when I was very young. Oddly, I didn’t know its proper name until I researched this post.

Pontederia cordata, commonly known as Pickerel Weed (or Pickerelweed), is an aquatic shoreline plant native to the Americas. It has an extremely wide range – from eastern Canada south all the way to Argentina. 

A flower stalk in bud, but not opened.

Pickerel Weed grows in flooded conditions, so the plant is generally dependent upon aerenchyma (spongy holes) in the stem to carry oxygen into the roots. It is often found in areas where water levels rise and fall over the seasons, like lake shores where fall, winter and spring water levels are much higher than in summer.

The plant flowers in mid to late summer in Nova Scotia. The purple flowers bloom on what is called an inflorescence. Inflorescence is the botanical term used when small flowers bloom in clusters. 

Once the flowers begins to produce seeds, the stem bends to submerge the heads. This is the same trick employed by water lilies that pull their pollinated blossoms below the surface to develop. 

Interestingly, there is great variety in the style of the flowers and leaves, not only within the species, but also within the same colony. Although the plants do reproduce by seed, they also can spread through creeping rhizomes. They often form large colonies long the shoreline.

Edibility

The seed can be eaten raw, or cooked like rice. It is said they have “a very acceptable nutty flavour and texture when raw,” and are “excellent if the seed is lightly roasted in an oven.” (From Plants for a Future web site)

The seed can also be dried for long-term storage whole, or ground into a powder. I haven’t been able to find any particular use for the ground powder form.

The newly emerging stalks can be eaten raw or cooked – as can the adult plant, but young leaves are supposedly better. They can be used raw in salads or boiled or steamed like spinach.

This plant is also an important source of food for wildlife, in particular waterfowl.

Pickerel weed will colonize large areas if allowed to do so.

In the garden

Pickerel Weed makes a good ornamental garden plant, either in a home pond or even in a planter. It has actually won horticultural awards.

If not grown in standing water just make sure that you have the ability to soak the entire container holding it every 3-4 days. It should never dry out entirely.

If slight care is taken it should re-emerge every spring and potentially spread. Even if planted in a pond it may be wise to plant in a bucket to control what can be an invasive occupant.

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Recipe: Eggplant Corn Pizza with Ciabatta-style Crust

I don't want any vegetables, thank you. I paid for the cow to eat them for me. – Doug Coupland 

One. Good. Pizza.

That’s a poor attitude to healthy living, isn't it. Here’s a deliciously different pizza that will make vegetarian converts out of all your friends. Smoky eggplant combined with sweet fresh corn and lots of garlic.

Broiled, chopped eggplant.

Three things inspired this recipe. The first was that I had an eggplant and a couple fresh ears of corn in my refrigerator. Necessity is always the mother of invention.

The second was, believe it or not, a salad recipe I found. The ingredients were grilled eggplant, corn and cubed bread. The recipe had two of my bases covered, as well as opening up the possibility of doing something else I wanted to try.

That’s my third “inspiration.” I recently posted a ciabatta bread recipe (here) and wanted to try it again, but adjust it a bit to see what would happen. This was my chance. A ciabatta crust for a pizza... puffy, holey, a little bit sweet tasting...

This is the kernels from 2 large cobs of corn. I changed the recipe
to be 2 medium ears. I didn't use quite all the kernels.

If you’ve never eaten it, eggplant is a common “substitution” for meat in recipes from around the globe. The taste of the vegetable when grilled, broiled or pan fried is very deep and complex. It may be an acquired taste for some, but a good choice to add to your diet.

One drawback is that many recipes call for salting sliced eggplant to draw out some of the “bitter” liquid. I’ve abandoned that practice altogether. I really don’t find it makes that much of a difference.

If you don’t salt the slices, here’s the nutritional "skinny.” Eggplant is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamin K, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of dietary fibre.

If you salt the slices it (of course) is high in sodium, and a majority of the calories do come from sugars present in the vegetable. But all in all, it’s an excellent addition to your meals.

Here’s one interesting fact. Eggplant contains the most nicotine of any vegetable. But don’t worry. You would have to consume 20 lbs of eggplant to get the same amount of nicotine that’s in one normal cigarette. So much using it in a stop-smoking plan!!

I find eggplant particularly delicious served with fresh herbs, cheese, garlic and tomato sauce. An excellent way is in eggplant parmigiana (here), moussaka (which I have to make and post) or…. pizza!

Give this one a try. It won’t disappoint. There’s tasks to do while the dough is rising, so read therough the entire recipe before you start.

This is the dough after the first 2 hour rise. Very puffy.

Eggplant Corn Pizza with Ciabatta-style Crust

Ciabatta-style crust

Time: 3 hours

3 cups

1-1/2 cups water, between 110°-115°F

2 tsp yeast 

1 tsp salt

Get out your KitchenAid mixer. Combine all the ingredients together with the hook attachment in the KitchenAid bowl. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then knead on medium speed for 15 minutes. It will become very smooth and elsatic and quite sticky.That’s OK.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let rise for about 2 hours in a warm place. In summer the best place is outside. Press out into the pan and let rise for an additional 45 minutes before adding any ingredients. 

The Rest

Prep: 1 hour  |  Cook:  25-30 min

olive oil

1 eggplant

2 heads roasted garlic

2 medium ears fresh corn

200 ml tomato sauce

1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper

250 g mozzarella, in 1/2” cubes

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

salt and pepper

While the dough is rising slice the eggplant into 1/2” thick slices. Brush with olive oil, season with a little salt, and broil until browned on both sides. Let cool and then cube.

Roast two whole heads of garlic in the oven. Slice off the tops to expose the cloves, pour a little olive oil on top, wrap and tin foil and bake for 1 hour at 400°F. Let cool so they can be handled easily and then remove from their paper.

Remove the kernels from two fresh ears of corn. Run a kitchen knife down over the ears to cut them off. This is best to do on a plate or cookie sheet. It can get a bit messy.

To make the pizza sauce, combine the tomato sauce, the cloves of garlic, some salt and pepper and the cayenne in a small blender. Blend together until the garlic cloves are completely broken down. This is the garlic tomato sauce.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Once the dough has risen, dimple it down well with your fingers.

Spread the sauce over the dough. Arrange the eggplant pieces on the pizza, followed by the raw corn kernels. Then add the herbs and stud with the mozzarella cubes.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve!

This recipe made a 12" x 16" pizza, certainly enough to feed 4.

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Foraging: Spear Thistle

They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. – Isaiah 2:4

A bee working diligently in the warm summer afternoon.

This must be Nova Scotia’s most dangerous looking plant. If you’ve ever seen one you know exactly what I mean. It obviously doesn’t want to be touched. If you are brave enough you’re rewarded with a painful pricking.

This plant was about 5'6".

That’s a shame because almost all of this plant is edible.

Cirsium vulgare (Spear Thistle) is native to most of Europe, western Asia, and northwestern Africa.  It is naturalized in North America and Australia and is classified an invasive weed in some areas.

Spear thistle is a tall biennial plant, forming a rosette of leaves and a taproot the first year, and a tall (up to 5’) flowering stem in the second year. The stem has numerous spine-tipped “wings” along its length. The leaves are sturdy, spine-tipped, grey-green, and deeply cut. The spiny leaves are what gives the plant its common name. 

Spear Thistles like bare disturbed ground but can also be found in the middle of verdant cattle pastures. They stand out because the grass around them is eaten, but the cattle don’t go near the thistles themselves.

The flower (a standard thistle shape) is between 1-2 inches wide and purple-pink. The seeds have a downy end, which helps them be spread by wind. They are also spread by agricultural activities such as haying.

The flowers are loved by butterflies and bees and the seeds are eaten by goldfinches.

Uses

Edible parts of Spear thistle are the flowers, leaves, extracted oil, seeds, root and the stem. Is there anything left?

The cooked root is supposed to taste somewhat like a Jerusalem artichoke but of lesser quality. It is a little bland so best served with other vegetables. It is also high in a starch called inulin, which makes some people “gassy.”

Young flower stems can be cooked and used as a vegetable. Young leaves can be soaked overnight in salt water and then cooked and eaten. Tthe prickles need to be removed from the leaves before the leaves can be eaten which removes much of the leaf in the processing. 

The flower buds can be cooked and used like globe artichokes, but are significantly smaller. I wouldn’t want to try to make a meal of them, unless you roast them whole.

The roots of bull thistle have been used as a poultice for sore jaws. A hot infusion of the whole plant has been used as a herbal steam for treating rheumatic joints. Haemorrhoids have been treated by a decoction (boiled down extraction) of the whole plant,.

The seed down as tinder tinder that is easily lit by a spark from a flint. A fibre obtained from the inner bark can be used in making paper.

The seed of all thistles yields oil by cold pressing.

Even if you don’t use this plant as a forage, it’s a grand thing to come across and could be used to great effect in borders to add interest and height. Just remember that as a biennial you only get stalks every two years, so planting two years in a row would be needed to ensure yearly bloom.

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Recipe: Lime-Beef Quesadillas

We feel free when we escape – even if it be but from the frying pan to the fire. – Eric Hoffer

Mmmmm.... Quesadilla.

Yesterday I posted about tofu wraps – very good ones too. If you haven’t seen the recipe you really should look. In that post I alluded to the fact that there would be leftover ingredients.

Cooking the filling. It needs to be dry, but don't dry out the beef!

That‘s often the case when one goes grocery shopping. You have leftover “stuff.” It’s one thing to have leftover onions when you buy a bag. They have a million uses. 

But what about some of the less usual ingredients, like tortillas? Unless you serve wraps twice in a couple days using them up requires a little thought. Some uses? In a strata, crisped in the oven for taco soup, or enchiladas.

Another that should spring to mind is quesadillas. They’re actually one of my favourites.

Essentially, quesadillas are two tortillas with filling between them that are pan fried and served with salsa, guacamole and sour cream. What you put in them is up to you but common ingredients are beef, pork or chicken with cheese.

This is a great way to stretch a little meat to serve four people. In this recipe I purchased a whole 330 g of beef steak (regular price about $4) that was marked down 30% for quick sale. All that means is that it should be used in the next day or two. 

The entire surface gets covered in cheese. I stopped part-way
just for illustrative purposes. 

Stores mark down well in advance of any issues with the meat. Grocers dislike food poisoning litigation…

The beef was pan browned, diced and then sautéed with sweet onion, lime and cumin. The sweet onion was also left over from the tofu wraps...

Sound good so far? That small amount of beef is enough to give four people 3 wedges of quesadilla. To make a meal simply serve some Spanish-style rice on the side.

Since I was at the Atlantic Superstore I also purchased one of their small jars of salsa – a mango lime. I am not getting paid in any way to say this, but it was pretty tasty. I would recommend it. The lime in the salsa boosted the lime in the meat.

It’s sometimes a challenge to use up “special” ingredients without repeating a dinner. But if you’re clever you can use up those purchases before they spoil and have completely different meal. 

Anonymous—that famous writer—said “Variety is the spice of life.” That’s doubly true in the kitchen.

Fry both sides until brown. How browned is up to you I guess...

Lime-Beef Quesadillas

Prep: 15 min  |  Cook: 15 min |  Serves 4

vegetable oil

300 g beef steak

1 medium sweet onion

2 hot chillies, minced with seeds (or to taste)

1 small green pepper, chopped

juice of 1 lime

2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

4 10” tortillas

300 g Monterey Jack cheese

Mango Lime Salsa (PC Brand)

mashed avocado mixed with lemon juice

sour cream

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Sear the steak on both sides. Remove and cut into small pieces (bite sized). Set aside.

Add the onion, chopped chillies and green pepper to the pan. Sauté until the onions begin to brown slightly. Add the beef back in to the pan. Add salt, pepper, cumin and the lime juice and cook until the meat is no longer red and the pan is dry. This is your filling.

Place one tortilla on a work surface. Grate the cheese. Add 1/4 of the cheese to the bottom of the tortilla and spread out evenly. Top with 1/2 of the beef mixture and then 1/4 more of the cheese. Place another tortilla on top.

Wipe the frying pan clean and add a little more vegetable oil. Gently place the quesadilla into the pan. Press down firmly. Let one side cook until browned and the cheese has meted (That is your “cement” to hold it together.)

Flip the quesadilla and brown on the second side. Remove and keep warm while you repeat the process to make the second quesadilla.

Cut each quesadilla into six wedges. Serve with avocado, salsa and sour cream. Yum.

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Recipe: Tofu Basil Nectarine Wraps

Nothing more strongly arouses our disgust than cannibalism, yet we make the same impression on Buddhists and vegetarians, for we feed on babies, though not our own. – Robert Louis Stevenson

No children were harmed in the making of this wrap.

Here’s a recipe if you’re looking for something to have for lunch that’s a bit different. It’s also vegetarian, which may classify it as different to a lot of people on that fact alone!

Crispy-coated pan fried tofu.

It’s also an excellent recipe to have for dinner if the weather is hot and you don’t want to spend hours in a steaming kitchen. In summer there’s not much worse than sweating in a kitchen preparing healthy food for your family. Healthy food, good; suffering for it, not so good…

So picture this: pan fried strips of sesame-scented tofu topped with a spicy peanut/ginger sauce. This is wrapped together with lots of fresh basil, sweet onion, carrot and nectarine slices. Yes indeed – nectarines.

The basil and peanut sauce pairs magnificently with the nectarines a well as the tofu. Sheer bliss. Fresh tasting, sweet and pretty much guilt-free. 

Plus, no faces at all involved in any of the ingredients (or egg or milk products) so you can serve this with certainty to not only your vegan friends.

Min you the wraps have gluten so they would have to be substituted for celiacs. And if people have issues with how the peanuts or peppers were farmed… We all know someone like that.

So without further ado, here’s some of the best vegan wraps you will find. Mind you I’m biased. This is my recipe…


Save money!!! Tomorrow I'll be posting a recipe that uses a few of the same ingredients that would be leftover from this recipe. For example, you can't buy a small sweet onion, or six 10"-tortillas...

Tofu Basil Nectarine Wraps

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 10 min  |  Serves 3-4 (two wraps per person)

This is everything except for the tofu.
As you can see, it was a very formal affair...

Pan fried tofu:

454 g extra firm tofu

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 tbsp sesame seeds (ground or whole)

salt and pepper

sesame oil

Sauce:

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 to 2 hot finger peppers, finely chopped

2” fresh ginger, finely chopped

The rest:

eight 10” flour tortillas

lettuce

basil

1 small sweet onion, sliced

carrot, in matchstick

2 nectarines, sliced

Just before rolling up.

First fry the tofu. 

Slice a 1 lb (454g) block of extra firm into four thin “steaks”. Mix the cornstarch, sesame seeds salt and pepper together in a bag.

You can either use the sesame seeds whole, or pulse them in a spice grinder and then add them to the cornstarch. Add the tofu slabs and toss well to coat. Shake off any excess.

Add sesame oil to a hit skillet and fry the “steaks” until browned and crisp on both sides. Be careful, as sesame oil has a fairy low smoking point, but we want its sesame flavour.

Remove to a board and cut into long strips.

Next make the sauce.

Chop the ginger and hot pepper. Use as much as you wish. I find the hotter the better. Add these two ingredients with the remaining sauce ingredients into a small blender. I have a “Magic Bullet” that works great for tasks like this.

Purée until smooth and combined. Adjust any of the ingredients to get the consistency you desire. Set aside.

To assemble 

Place some lettuce on a tortilla wrap and add 2-3 tofu pieces. Layer on the remaining ingredients, top with the sauce, roll up and serve.

They're as easy as that!

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Recipe: Apricot Stuffed Pork Roulade

Pork, in every form, is indigestible and should never be eaten by persons of weak digestion, by young children, nor by the old and feeble. – The Picayune’s Creole Cook Book 1901

If anyone thinks this is indigestible they're crazy.

Oh, really???? I beg to disagree with that intro quote.

Not much to say about today’s post, running a bit late for some reason. 

The pork roast has to be cut open like a triptych (or a 3-panel brochure).

At least we have finished the process of listing our house. It should appear on MLS either today or tomorrow. So *in theory* I should be able to spend a little more time on interesting topics for you to read about.

I’m not saying this one's not interesting, just that I don’t have a lot of background on it. This post is actually a good one and am surprised I haven't posted it sooner. It’s delicious.

In lieu of butcher's string I resorted to turkey skewers, only
because my string is packed away...

I have been making this rolled roast for more years than I care to remember – and it always is a hit. The onion, sage and apricots complement the pork perfectly. It’s also a pretty easy recipe to make that’s also short on ingredients.

If you couple all that with the ability to roast vegetables with the pork you’ve pretty much got a meal you stick in the oven and forget for an hour.

This recipe is perfect for a busy weekend meal, or even for company when you would prefer to spend your time with them rather than in the kitchen.

I think it came from a magazine originally but I’ve changed it up so much that I can confidently call it mine. 

I have also made this in the winter using dried cranberries instead of apricots. That’s amazing too. You could even use a blend of dried fruits. Figs, pears, apples... (Apples and/or pears with sage would be great.)

To serve more people get a long roast. It’s not the circumference of the roulade but the length that will determine how many slices you get, and therefore how many people you can serve. Usually 2 slice per person will do.

Brown the roast an all sides.

Apricot Stuffed Pork Roulade

Prep: 20 min  |  Roast: 45 min to 1 hour  |  Serves 4

2 lb boneless pork roast

1/3 cup butter (or more)

1 small onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup dried apricots, chopped

1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped

2 cups stale bread, diced

salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 385°F.

Prepare the pork roast by slicing it into three equally thick pieces – but ensure you leave them attached. It’s like you’re making a long piece of meat out a round piece. Equal thickness will help in cooking evenly once it’s stiffed.

To do so you will cut down through the roast’s side 1/3 of its thickness. Lat it flat and then from the inside cut again and lay it out flat, cut side up. You will have a piece of meat that is three times the surface area of the original roast.

Watch the temperature so you don't dry out the roast.

See the second photo on this post for what it should look like flattened. Season the surface with salt and pepper.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter in an oven-proof frying pan and sauté the onions, garlic and apricots until the onions soften. Then add the bread and sage. Remove from the heat, add salt and pepper and mix. 

The stuffing should be quite buttery. If your bread seems too dry feel free to add a little more butter.

Pile the stuffing onto the surface of the prepared roast. Roll up, like a jellyroll and tie together with butcher string.

I am moving so my string has been packed away. Luckily I found some turkey skewers in the cutlery drawer. You don’t have to use string, just anything that can go into the oven and will hold the meat into a roll shape.

Heat the remaining butter in the frying pan. Season the roast on the outside and brown in the hot butter on top of the stove. Once browned, place the pan with the roast in the oven.

Bake at 385°F for 45 min to 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reads 160°F.  Make sure you’re reading the meat and not the stuffing or you may have quite a dry piece of meat…

Serve drizzled with any pan juice that has collected during roasting.

By the way, if you put vegetables in the oven while it is warming up they will be roasted by the time the pork is finished.

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